Frank Bateman Keefe (September 23, 1887 – February 5, 1952) was an American lawyer and Republican politician from Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

In the fall of 1914, he was elected chairman of the Winnebago County Democratic Party,[7] and served in that role for several years.

He served on the city draft board after the United States entered World War I;[12] he was a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and was president of the local Kiwanis.

Keefe championed a movement to return to the traditional city council model of aldermanic districts, but was ultimately unsuccessful.

[14][15] Keefe attended Woodrow Wilson's 2nd inauguration in 1917, and spoke vigorously in defense of the Democratic Party agenda as late as the spring of 1920.

[16] It was a surprise two months later when Keefe sought the Republican Party nomination for district attorney, challenging the incumbent David K. Allen.

In a statement, Keefe acknowledged his past association with the Democratic Party and explained that he had always considered himself an independent.

When Wisconsin U.S. senator Robert M. La Follette ran for the presidency in 1924 on the Progressive Party ticket, Keefe supported him.

[23] Three weeks of hearings were held in early 1928, in which it was detailed that the sheriff had accepted bribes for protection of speakeasies operating during Prohibition, and had separately used confiscated alcohol from other prohibition-related raids for parties and "orgies" held at the county jail, and had otherwise abused his authority over the jail.

Loescher was charged with self-dealing in contracts for the county's Sunnyview sanatorium and Hicks Memorial Home over ten years.

[25] Loescher ultimately made a plea deal, pleading nolo contendere, resigning from office, and paying a penalty.

[33] In the general election, Keefe faced incumbent Democrat Michael Reilly, running for his fourth consecutive term, and a third party challenge from Progressive Adam F. Poltl, who was then the mayor of Hartford, Wisconsin.

Reilly also accused Keefe of trying to obfuscate his party affiliation and avoid mention of the Republican presidential nominee Alf Landon.

[39] During the 76th Congress, Keefe embraced the work of the House Un-American Activities Committee and became a vocal anti-communist, with increasingly hostile rhetoric toward the Roosevelt administration.

[40][41] Keefe was also outspoken and voted repeatedly to maintain strict U.S. neutrality as Europe spiraled into World War II.

[42] During the Congress, he also voted for the creation of American concentration camps, intended for the detention of aliens whose country of origin would not readmit them.

Keefe then embraced the war effort, but spent much of 1942 attempting to justify his previous anti-war position.

In 1950, Keefe announced he would retire from Congress, but Wisconsin press speculated that this was in preparation for a run for U.S. Senate or Governor in 1952.